Down 23 At One Point, Illinois Rallies To Stun Clemson

Clemson, SC (Sports Network) - Mike Davis scored 22 points, Mike Tisdale had the go-ahead basket in the final minute, and the Illinois Fighting Illini rebounded from a 23-point deficit early in the second half to shock the 19th- ranked Clemson Tigers, 76-74, as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Brandon Paul added 20 points for Illinois (5-2), which had been 0-2 away from its home court before Wednesday's remarkable win. D.J. Richardson contributed 14 points, while Tisdale provided 12 points.

The Illini trailed, 51-28, early in the second half before storming back on the heels of a 35-10 run in a span of just over 10 minutes.

Demontez Stitt led Clemson (6-2) with 15 points, but the Tigers shot just 39.3 percent from the field in their first home loss. Trevor Booker was the only other Clemson player in double-figures with 12 points.

Illinois trailed by 20 at halftime and 60-41 six minutes into the second half, but an 22-1 surge put the Illini in front with 8:55 left.

Tisdale's layup started the run, and Davis added a three-point play. After David Potter's free throw for Clemson, Richardson drained a three-pointer, and Davis drilled a jumper on the next possession for a 61-51 game with 12:55 left.

Davis added a layup two minutes later, and Richardson converted a rare four- point play on the following touch. Demetri McCamey's jumper made it a two- point game, and Paul's two free throws tied the contest with 9 1/2 minutes left.

Paul stole the ball on the next Clemson possession and went in for an uncontested layup for a 63-61 Illinois lead with 8:55 to go.

The Tigers finally scored and tied the game on a slam by Jerai Grant, and Bryan Narcisse's layup with 3:16 left gave Clemson a slight 71-70 advantage.

After a Tisdale layup put Illinois back in front, Tanner Smith drained a three-pointer from the corner to put the Tigers ahead by two with two minutes left.

Richardson made 1-of-2 from the line for the Illini at the other end, and Tisdale faked and drove to the hoop for an easy layup on the next possession for a 75-74 Illinois lead with just over half a minute to go.

Tisdale blocked a Potter shot in the paint with 17 seconds left, and Paul drilled one free throw with 8.4 seconds remaining to give the visitors a two- point edge.

Stitt went up for a potential game-tying layup in the waning seconds, but the ball bounced off the rim, giving Illinois the improbable win.

Illinois started the game by making its first five shots to take a 10-5 lead in the early moments on Davis' jumper.

Noel Johnson's three-pointer for Clemson gave the Tigers their first lead at 11-10, and the hosts went up by five, 24-19, on a layup by Smith at the period's midway point.

After two Davis free throws, Clemson went on a 9-2 burst to take a 10-point lead. Andre Young had five points during the stretch, and Smith's two free throws made it 33-23 with 5:47 left.

Bill Cole appeared to temper the Clemson surge with a jumper for the Illini, but the Tigers ripped off the next 13 points to take a commanding 21-point advantage. Young had another four points to start the run, and Stitt made a pair of free throws and followed it with a three-pointer for a 44-25 lead with just under two minutes left.

Potter's two free throws capped the burst, and Clemson led, 47-27, at halftime.

Ironically, Clemson beat Illinois on December 2, 2008, 76-74, in Champaign...Illinois leads the all-time series between the schools, 3-1...The Illini shot 53.8 percent from the field...Young had nine points for Clemson, as did Smith. Potter and Grant both had eight points in defeat.

- Via Sports Network